St Philips hospital closed two years ago but the owner insists it will only take a little sprucing up before the Government can start transferring patients.
Frank Portelli yesterday sought to allay fears that the hospital may require extensive maintenance to start accepting patients under a deal signed with the Government.
“Within a few weeks of taking over, the Government can start to transfer patients from Mater Dei for rehabilitation purposes,” Dr Portelli said, when asked about the state of medical equipment and hospital facilities.
He insisted that over the past two years, parts of the hospital were used for outpatient services and the equipment was regularly switched on. However, he noted that medical equipment and other facilities such as lifts will have to be serviced.
“The patient will win with this deal because almost immediately some 100 beds can be unblocked at Mater Dei hospital,” Dr Portelli said, adding it did not make sense for the country to have an asset that was not being used when the health service needed more beds.
Although the contract has not yet been signed, on Monday the Government released the salient points of the deal. The private hospital will be leased for €825,000 per year for eight years with an option to buy after the third year. The purchase value after three years, inclusive of all lease payments, has been calculated on the final negotiated price of €12.4 million. The first option to buy is in the third year starting from around €11.3 million to €9.8 million on the eighth year.
St Philips hospital has 110 beds and the Government wants to eventually increase capacity to 275 beds to plug the shortfall in beds at Mater Dei hospital.
The deal was welcomed by the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses which has been calling for more beds to be made available to cater for an ageing population.
Labour leader Joseph Muscat did not want to commit himself on whether a Labour administration would honour the agreement reached between the Government and Dr Portelli before the Opposition saw the contract. “We don’t know the details yet and we have to first study the contract before giving our position,” Dr Muscat said when asked by The Times.
Describing this contract as “more proof of complete mismanagement of the health sector”, Dr Muscat criticised the decision to opt for this acquisition just four years from the opening of Mater Dei.